Joint pain tests came back normal

Tina1967

Wondered if anyone could help me with this. For last year i have had pain and stiffness in hands,fingers wake in the night and they are clenched and painful to straighten. joint pain and stiffness also in elbows knees,hips and shoulders. Have had blood tests done and xray on hands all have came back normal. The only thing that came up 6 months ago was vit D deficiency after taking supplements since then this is now normal but still the same joint wise. All Dr has said is wear and tear arthritis and to just take pain killers and exercise this was on e telephone appointment got the feeling i was being fobbed off with this especially in multiple joints all coming down with wear and tear at same time! I am 52 and seems odd that this would happen to as many joints at same time. thanks in advance for any replies.

[Deleted User]

Hi and welcome -our helpline team will help,in the meantime please look at https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis- it may give guidance
Al

stickywicket

Hi. I'm not a member of the Helpline team, just an ordinary forum member with both RA and OA.

OA can, indeed, seem to come on in several joints at once but I think you want to be sure you don't have RA. We do find on here that some GPs think that, if the rheumatoid factor in the blood is low, that patient can't have RA. Not so. Some autoimmune forms of arthritis are sero-negative (eg psoriatic or Ankylosing Spondylitis) and even RA itself can be sero-negative though it's not usual. You might like to read this page from NRAS https://www.nras.org.uk/seropositive-seronegative .

However, x-ray damage from OA and RA are different and a good doc can tell. Also, I'd say that, when my RA has flared, I've felt very bad fatigue and quite 'fluey'. With the OA I just feel it if I've overdone things.

You might want to check again with your GP - or with another in the practice - just to be sure.

Oh, and people often feel that GPs are offhand about OA. I think it's because there's not much they can do for it - prescribe physio, anti-inflammatories and pain relief. They know they can't 'mend' us. Nor can they refer us to someone who can. It's a tough one but we can adapt and learn to live reasonably with it. Good luck

helpline_team

Hi Tina1967,

Thank you for getting in touch with us. Sorry to hear about your experience with the doctor.

The doctor describing it as wear and tear does sound like osteoarthritis. However, it will be good to have a proper diagnosis of what type of arthritis you have. While painkillers and exercise can be helpful, you can get further support. It may be useful to ask your GP to be referred to a physiotherapist. This way you can get more catered exercises to do. If needed, you can try and get a second opinion if you feel that your current GP isn’t being supportive.

You can also ask to be referred to a pain clinic or pain management programme. The specialists there can help go through the different types of treatment and options that may be useful for you. This could include medication, physical therapy and even psychological therapy options.

In the meantime, if you feel that you have aches and pains, people do find it useful to use heat or ice on the affected joint. So, a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or covering, place it on your joint for 15 – 20 minutes and see how you feel. Continue with light exercises. This could include chores or walks. But to bear in mind to pace yourself and not over work your body.

I’ve added some useful links from our website below for further information.
- https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/
- https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/1310/keep-moving-information-booklet-with-poster.pdf
- https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/

If you have any further questions or would like to someone on our helpline, please don’t hesitate to call us on 0800 5200 520.

Best wishes,

Sharmin – Helpline Advisor 😊